News Article

In Memoriam: Lisa Krivickas, MD

Lisa Krivickas

Lisa Krivickas, MD, associate chief of the MGH Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a physician in the Department of Neurology, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, Sept. 22 at the age of 45. Krivickas, who also held positions at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and BWH, devoted much of her time and expertise to caring for patients with neuromuscular disorders like ALS. She was a highly respected clinician, researcher and educator.

Krivickas graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor of science degree in engineering in 1986. She went on to earn her medical degree from Harvard Medical School (HMS) and completed an internship at New England Deaconess Hospital in 1992, followed by a residency at New Jersey Medical School and the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation.

In 1996, Krivickas joined the MGH Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Department of Neurology. She was appointed associate chief of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2003. In 2006, she became an associate professor at HMS.

Throughout her career in medicine, Krivickas also excelled in research, striving to develop rehabilitation strategies and treatments that would improve the quality of life and length of survival for patients affected by neuromuscular disease. She published numerous papers and won four "best scientific paper or abstract" awards. In 2009, she received a recognition award for accomplishments in Research, Clinical Care, Teaching and Mentoring from the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation as well as the Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. She was also recognized by the HMS Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 2009 with a mentoring award named in her honor.

"We all knew Lisa as the very intelligent, talented and nationally recognized physiatrist, neuromuscular specialist, electrodiagnostician, educator, editor and researcher," says Jane Parrish, administrative director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the MGH and Spaulding. "More than these things, colleagues and friends knew Lisa as a wife, mother, athlete, co-worker, friend and brave ALS patient and research subject."

Krivickas is survived by her husband and their two young children, as well as her father, sister and mother-in-law.